Flushing apparatus.



No. 796,458. v PATENTBD AUG. -8, 1905. W. SCOTT.

FLUSHING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 13, 1904.

2 SHBETSSHEET 1.

' PATENTED AUG. 8, 1905.

W. SCOTT.

PLUSHING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 13. 1904.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SCOTT, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SCOTT & SONS COMPANY, OF MEDFORD, MASSA- CHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

FLUSHING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1905.

Application filed July 13, 1904. Serial No. 216,361.

T0 to whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM Soon, a citizen of the United States,'residing in Medford, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Flushing Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a flushing apparatus for water-closets and is embodied in an apparatus in which a jet is employed to discharge the contents of the bowl through the upward leg of the trap-outlet without necessarily creating siphonic action.

It is necessary in order to clean a watercloset bowl thoroughly that there should be a liberal amount of water discharged into the bowl around the rim, and unless there is a very high pressure of water and a large volume it is impracticable to supply the rimflushing passage with sufficient water and at the same time to create a jet of suflicient force and volume to discharge the contents of the bowl. In accordance with the present invention, however, a thorough flushing of the bowl is obtained by the use of a device which controls the flow of water so that the jet and rim are supplied consecutively, the passage supplying the rim being cut oil or throttled while the jet is in full operation and the jet being cut off or throttled while the rim-passage is open to wash the walls of the bowl and to supply the same with sufiicient water for a thorough cleansing. In operating the device it is desirable, though not essential, that there should be two operations of the jet and two operations of the rim-flushing passage, the main volume of water being first discharged through the jet to force out the contents of the bowl, the jet then being cut ofi or throttled to permit the bowl to partially refill through the rim, so as to wet down and sink anything floating on the top of the water, this action being followed by a second operation of the jet to again discharge the contents of the bowl, the rim then coming into operation to refill the bowl and seal the trap. For this purpose the valve employed is arranged to open fully at the first operation and then close slowly, the said valve being so arranged that in its closing movement it controls difierent ports, so as to divert the main supply from a passage leading directly to the jet to a supplemental passage leading to the rim-flushing duct, and vice versa, thus automatically producing the consecutive operations above set forth.

In the construction shown the valve em bodying the invention is employed in connection with a direct valve of the type which is used without the intervention of an individual tankas, for example, in cases where a large tank is used to supply a number of closets the construction shown being substantially like that described and set forth in Letters Patent No. 713,161, granted to me November 11, 1902. In this type of valve a piston is employed to keep the valve seated, the said piston being normally subjected to pressure from the water-supply which enters a closed chamber behind the piston through a comparatively small by-pass. This chamber is provided with a valve controlling a comparatively large outlet, so that by opening the said valve momentarily the water will flow out of the chamber at once, causingapreponderance of pressure on the other side of the piston, which immediately lifts the valve from its seat, opening it to the widest extent. This valve is shown as operated by means of a push-button and as closed by a spring, the closure taking place quickly, so that the outlet from the chamber is stopped substantially as soon as the main flushing-valve has become wide open, the flushing-valve then slowly closing owing to the accumulation of pressure caused by water flowing through the smaller by-pass into the chamber.

In the construction shown the main inlet to the bowl is provided with a valve-seat normally closed by a disk valve connected with the piston, the said disk valve, however, being provided with a tubular projection which enters a cylindrical member beyond the valveseat, the said cylindrical member and tubular projection having lateral ports to control the flow of water through the cylindrical member to a supplemental passage outside of the same, the said supplemental passage in the construction shown leading to the rim of the bowl, and the main passage, which connects directly with the bottom of the cylindrical member, leads to a passage in the bowl, terminating in a jet which is in alinement with the upward leg of the discharge-outlet. When the valve is wide open, the solid p)rtion of the tubular projection is in position to substantially close the ports through the whole of the cylindrical member, the ports in said tubular projection then being above the valve-seat, so that the water can flow through said ports into the jet-passage. During the closing movement of the valve the ports in the tubular projection come into alinement with the ports in the cylindrical member, the said tubular projection being fur her provided with internal flanges which surround a throttling member projecting upward from the bottom of said member. As these flanges pass the said throttling member, therefore, they cut off or throttle the flow of water directly through the tubular passage into the. jet-passage, the main volume of water therefore flowing through the lateral ports to the rim of the bowl. The valve may of course be arranged so as'to repeat these alternate operations as many times as may be desirable, it being only essential, however, that one operation of each passage be provided for, although a better result can be obtained if each passage is opened twice during the closing of the valve, and a structure capable of such operation is herein shown to illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a valve and bowl embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the valve, showing the valve open. Fig. 3 is a similar vertical section, showing the valve in an intermediate position; and Fig. 4 is a partial vertical section, the valve being shown in elevation and in a position between those shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively.

The bowl a is provided with a jet-passage a terminating in a jet-orifice 64 which points into the upward leg of the outletpassage, which is shown as provided with upward and downward legs a and (0 substantially as in a siphon-closet, except that the downward leg is not provided with any abutment to deflect or break up the body of water for the purpose of creating siphonic action. The upward and downward legs constitutea trap, as in the siphon-closet; but the force of the jet of water issuing from the jet-orifice c is depended upon to carry the contents of the bowl through the outletpassage. In addition to the jet-passage a the bowl a is provided with a rim-flushing passage a,which extends around the rim of the )owl, having discharge-orifices a at intervals, so that the water entering the said passage will flow down the walls of the bowl entirely around the same. In accordance with the invention the jet-passage a and the rim-passage a are provided with separate inlet-openings in the bowl to receive separate inlet-pipes Z) and 0, the pipe 6 communicating with the jet-passage and the pipe ccommunicating with the rim-passage. As herein shown, the pipes b and c are concentrically arranged, the pipe I) projecting through the rim-passage a into the jet-passage a and being provided with a packing-ring Z2 which affords a substantially tight fit within the passage a and in conjunction with the Walls of the pipe 6 separates the said passage from the passage a. The pipe 0 surrounds the pipe 6, and both of the said pipes are supplied with water from the main supply-pipe d, which is controlled by a valve 0. The openings in the bowl, which afford communication with the jet and rim passages, respectively, are in substantial alinement with each other, and this construction has the advantage that it admits of the concentric pipe arrangement above described,

, such arrangement being compact and convenient and also attractive in appearance, since only one of the pipes is visible. As herein shown, the valve 6, which controls the flushing operation, is tubular in form, being longitudinally movable in acylindrical member 5 at the top of the tube 6, the said cylindrical member having ports 6 which communicate with a supplemental cylindrical member 0 inclosing the member 6- and in communication with the outer tube or passage 0. At the top of the member 6 is a valve seat I), which is closed by the valve 6 when in its normal position, but opened when the said valve is lifted from the said seat, the water then being admitted to the member 5 through ports 6 and e in the tubular. projecting portion 6* of the valve 6.

Referring to Fig. 2, in which the valve eiS shown as fully open, it will be seen that the water entering through the main inlet d will pass through the ports 6 and 6 into the tubular member 6* and through the same into the pipe 6 and passage a so as to supply the jet-orifice a with water at substantially full pressure and in full volume. When the valve is in this position,the ports Z) are closed, as shown in Fig. 2, by the solid part of the tubular projection 6*, so that substantially all the water is delivered to the jet-passage a and only such amount as may leak is delivered to the rim-passage a. Thus when the valve is first opened a powerful jet is directed up the leg a of the outlet-passage, this being suflicient to practically discharge the contents of the bowl. As the valve 6 closes, however, ports 6 in the tubular member 6 come in line withthe ports I), thus opening communication between the interior of the tubular projection eand the pipe 0, so that water is supplied to the rim-passage a, and at the same time the jet-passage a is closed or throttled by means of a supplemental valve member f, which is shown as in the form of a disk projecting upward into the member 6 As herein shown, the disk f is supported on a stem f secured to a spider f in the member 6 To cooperate with this disk, the

tubular member 6* is provided with an annular inwardly-projecting flange e, which leaves an opening the diameter of which is nearly the same as thatof the disk f, so that the said flange 6 and the disk f when in alinement substantially close communication between the upper portion of the tubular member 6, supplied with water through the ports 6 and c and the jet-supply passage 6. This causes the main volume of water to be diverted to the rim, so that a good volume of water is delivered into the bowl along the Walls thereof, thoroughly rinsing the walls and at the same time partially refilling the bowl and submerging any substances which may be floating on the top, so that a subsequent operation of the jet will completely discharge the contents of the bowl. To repeat the operation, the ports 6 and e are so arranged thatthe latter when the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 3 opens communication with the pipe 0 while the former is still above the valve-seat 6 so as to receive water fromthe inlet 03. At the same time a supplemental flange e corresponding to the flange 6, previously described, comes into cooperation with the disk valve f, thus again cutting off the jet and causing the operation of the rim. The valve 0, as shown in Fig. 4, is between the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and the ports 6* are cut ofi, while the disk valve f is between the flanges e and 6 so that the water from the supplypipe is in communication with the jet and practically cut off from the rim. In the closing of the valve in accordance with the construction herein shown, therefore, the main volume of water is first directed to the jet, then diverted to the rim, then again directed to the jet, and finally diverted to the rim, the last rim-flushing operation serving to refill the bowl and seal the trap.

While, as previously stated, the valve 6 may be operated in any suitable or usual way, provided that it will close slowly, so as to perform the functions hereinbefore described, such valve is Well adapted for use with an automatic actuating device controlled by the water-pressure. Such a device has therefore been chosen for illustration, the valve 6 being provided with a stem 6 provided with a piston 6 fitting closelyin a chamber g, which is in communication with the main inlet OZ through a by-pass 0 formed in the stem 6 When the valve is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, the waterpressure acts equally upon the upper and under sides of the piston e and acts also upon the upper surface of the valve 6, which is slightly smaller in area than that of the piston 0 The unbalanced water-pressure on the top of the valve ethus holds the said valve seated. The

chamber g is provided with a comparatively sage g is materially larger than the by-pass 6 The pressure upon the under side of the piston e at once acts to open the valve, the

opening movement being very rapid and carrying the piston a up to its highest point. The push-button g is shown as provided with a spring 9 so that the valve g will be closed as soon as thebutton g is released, and a part of the water flowing into the valve-chamber from the supply-inlet d will go through the by-pass 0 gradually filling the chamber g, thus causing a preponderating pressure upon the top of the piston 6 which produces a slow closing movement of the valve.

While the construction hereinbefore described constitutes a practical embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that modifications may be made not only in the construction but in the mode of operation of the valve, and it is not, therefore, intended to limit the invention to the specific construction herein shown and described.

What I claim is The combination with a bowl provided with a jet-orifice and a supply-pipe therefor, and with rim-flushing orifices and a separate supply-pipe therefor; of a chamber provided with a valve-seat at the end, and ports in the side wall, said chamber being in direct communication With one of said supply-pipes, and in communication through the ports in the side wall with the other supply-pipe; a valve cooperating with the valve-seat aforesaid, and having a tubular projection extending into said chamber, said tubular projection having ports through the side and an inner contracted portion; and a stationary disk valve substantially fitting said inner contracted portion, and arranged to cut off communication between the chamber and the supply-pipe connected therewith when the valve is in a certain predetermined position, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM SCOTT.

Witnesses:

HENRY J; LIVERMORE, MARGARET E. CovENEY. 

